RSA award for UK fashion student
A fashion designer from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) has won the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) annual student award for his womenswear designs. Nabil El-Nayal, a final-year BA (Hons) Fashion student, beat more than 100 entries to take the £1,200 prize.
The competition brief - entitled ‘Fashion with a conscience’ - asked students to design a capsule collection of 12 outfits to reflect current environmental and social concerns.
Four students from MMU were amongst the 13 finalists selected for the final in London, where they came up againse seven industry judges, including Wendy Dagworthy (head of Fashion at the Royal College of Art) and British fashion designer Sylvia Ayton (vice chairman of the Costume Society).
Mr El-Nayal based his collection on the theme of longevity, in contrast with today’s throw-away approach to fashion. Taking his inspiration from the Elizabethan era and the dark days of the Black Death, he designed a black and white range with simple, clean, flowing lines and a timeless quality.
Mr El-Nayal is currently working on his graduation collection and waiting to hear if he has been selected for the Graduate Fashion Week in London. One voluminous dress, which took Nabil 10 weeks to create, has a high neck piece sewn entirely by hand, six sleeves and uses 16 metres of fabric.
He will join the Royal College of Art in September to study for an MA in Womenswear and plans to use the RSA prize money to help fund his studies.
